Square EA announced today that Final Fantasy IV and Chrono Trigger for the PlayStation will be released in the U.S. The remake of Final Fantasy IV had originally, in Japan, been sold seperately, then bundled together with Final Fantasy V and VI as part of a collection. When Square decided to release the anthology in the U.S. in the fall of '99, they decided to omit IV. No reason was ever given, but fans speculated that it was because IV wouldn't appeal to the PlayStation generation, as it were.

Chrono Trigger also eluded release for some time after it's November '99 release in Japan. The re-release features new anime sequences interspersed throughout the game.

The re-release of Final Fantasy IV includes such enhancements as a "dash" feature, a two player mode similar to VI's, and a brand new localization of the title, including no censoring. In a nut shell, this is Final Fantasy IV "hard-type," which has never been seen in the states. Cinemas will also be included in the game.

"We are pleased to deliver these two titles to our North American fans on the PlayStation game console," said Jun Iwasaki, president of Square Electronic Arts. "Since the release of Chrono Cross last August, we've received an overwhelming number of fan requests to re-release Chrono Trigger for the PlayStation game console. We have added a variety of new features to both Final Fantasy IV and Chrono Trigger for this compilation and believe this set will appeal to fans of the original games and introduce a new generation of gamers to some of our classic titles."

Final Fantasy IV and Chrono Trigger will be released together under the name Final Fantasy Chronicles. A weird move, considering that Chrono Trigger has absolutely nothing to do story-wise with the Final Fantasy series. Final Fantasy Chronicles will be available at retailers this July for $40 USD.